trying to cut the CN - 8 months

[*Becky*]

Hi,
DD ia 8 months next week and we still have the CN. Without some changes/help I can't see it going anytime soon.

This is her routine atm...
A - 6-6.30am
S - 9.15/30 - 9.45/10am
S - 12/12.15 - 2.15pm (this is ideal but tbh quite unusual. I always try to re settle for this nap)
CN - 4.30-5pm
Bedtime - 6.30-7pm

She has always been a short napper although she can and does suddenly pull out a good 1-1.40 nap of her own accord every few days.

We have to stick to a nap no earlier than 9.15am 3 x week as we have a pre school drop off to do. I suspect some mornings she is OT and that is the short nap.

There are a few problems really. One is the nursery run but we are now also using the CN to scrape through the day yk? She also wakes anytime from 5.30am but I keep her in a low lit room and usually in bed with me if this happens. She is never fed before 7.15am and she is fine with that. She is an independent sleeper and has no night feeds. 4 bottles and 3 solid meals a day now.

I just don't know what to do to get rid of the CN. I think her A time should be around 3 hours - is that right?

Help! I have given myself 2-3 weeks to try and get rid of the CN as sometimes I think it causes us issues too yk - with the EWing?

Becky

[creations]

Hi Becky
A 3hr A time would be about right at this age yes.  Of course ther are LOs getting more though and also those working around the school run.
Is that first nap generally 30 mins or 40 mins?  Going down easy or hard? Waking happy or crying?

I don't think you're going to be able to drop the CN until you get a better first nap and more consistent second nap.  With the first nap so short it reduces the A to the second nap making it earlier in the day than you'd want and then a long A to bed with no CN.

Do you have an afternoon school run to fit around too?

[*Becky*]

Thanks for the response

Yes I agree about the shortness of the first nap etc but how do I sort that? At some point surely she just has to do 2 naps or else she could be on this routine for a while?

Yesterday was better. She had had a CN the night previously and so a 7pm bedtime but woke at 5.30am!! I managed to get her back to sleep until about 7am ish. Then it went...

A - 7-9.40am
S - 9.40-10.20am

S - 12.30pm - 1.10pm ish - was awake until 2pm but then slept till 3.30pm

Bedtime - 6.30pm

STTN - 6.30am.

Really happy with that. I suspect she is either awake before we hear her OR her first A is quite short because this is today.

A - 6.30-9.15am (DH said she was yawning about 9am but he had to deal with DS)
S - 9.15-9.50am - then went back to sleep at 10.15 - 11.15am.

S - just out her down at 2pm as she was getting grizzly.

So....if she can only do 2.5 hours in the am then she is getting OT by the time I put down for the first nap and that is why it is usually only 30 mins but Mon, wed and fri I cannot get her down earlier than 9.15am. Tricky one eh???

[*Becky*]

sorry - just realised i never answered your questions.
The first nap is usually 30-40 mins. She usually wakes up happy from it but often wakes from the pm one unhappy although it does not last long - she is a textbook/angel bubba.
On a Mon I collect DS at 4pm, 12pm on a Wed and fri I am flexible but usually around 4pm ish.

[creations]

OK, the happy wake up on the morning nap, and it being 40 min sounds UT.  Your first EASY had a 3hr A there, the one from yesterday has shorter, 2hr 40
At 8 months you need to push the A up to the full 3hrs, possibly even more if you get 40 min nap (UT)
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.0
With textbook/angel you can prob push 15 min in one go I would think - but you know your LO best, go slower if necessary to help her adjust her body clock. I would go to the 3hr, wait a couple days then 3hr 15 and see what happens on the first nap.
The earlier wake up could possibly also be related to the first nap coming a bit early for her.

Your day could look something like this
WU 6.30
A 3hr 15
S 10.45 - 12.15
A 3hr
S 3.15 - a long sleep here could be a problem for you with the school run.  If it's possible to go out to the school early to nap in the pram/car and just sit and wait for the PU time, that might be an option.  Or you might need to be creative with this and do a CN here, 30min followed by a shorter A and another nap after the school run.
It's about finding a way to get the sleep in around other family commitments like the school run.  It is possible though.  We had a second nap as a CN due to commitments and then a third nap of a CN too.  When I dropped a nap it was the middle one I dropped rather than the third one...not saying this is exactly going to work for you, only that we need to find a routine that fits for you.

Any thoughts?

[*Becky*]

thanks for your support. I feel we have had constant nap issues since she was born!

It is weird as she shows so many tired signs on the car journey to pre school and I rush back to put her down and then it is nearly always 30-40 mins.

I think the first sleep would be 9.45-11.15am ideally - think that is what you mean and then the second would be 2.15-whenever.

That would be a perfect routine for us but in her whole life she has never done 2 good naps in a day. We usually get a short, then a bit longer then a short.

I will try and aim for 3.15 anyway and see if that makes any difference to the nap length.

Atm she is a bit ill so will just let her get over that.

thanks again xx

[Claudiamummy]

Hi there you are getting some great advice from Creations (with a funky new profile pic!) but just wanted to add DD only dropped her cn at 9 months.... I kept trying and there was mayhem lol.... The she just refused 2 nights running and it was gone!! (yippee)

I also always had problems with naps, but once dd dropped the last nap A times rocketed, and things seem to be gradually coming together

Obvioulsy the ew are an issue ( we could always apop dd back to sleep for a bit so not really a massive issue for us)...I guess what I am saying is that all lo are different....I used to really stress that it wasn't *normal* to still have the cn, but trust me DD made it QUITE clear she was done with it )

Keep going with the A time advice, and it will be gone very soon, then I am betting you will see changes in nap lengths.....

Ooooh last thing, those blinking fake tired signs are a killer lol, stick to your guns and be brave, dd yawns like a loony in the buggy after only an hour of A.... It's the motion it's very relaxing

Good luck!!!
Xx

[creations]

I think the first sleep would be 9.45-11.15am ideally

Ooops!  Sorry - so please you can decipher my errors!

And DS is the same in the car.  There's no way he'd go down for a cot nap at 9.15am (he's a year old and only roughly 5 hr A time, so his nap is about noon) but put him in the car to get to a 9.30 toddler group and I guarantee he will be asleep within 30 seconds.  He sleeps either until I drag him out of his car seat or when he realises he is surrounded by other toddlers banging drums and shaking bells (actually sometimes he sleeps through that too!).

[*Becky*]

thanks guys - that makes a lot of sense about the car and motion etc. Will keep you posted xx

[*Becky*]

one thing I just noticed is that we had a bad night last night as she was sick and then wide awake. Put her down this am at usual nap time and she did 2 hours!! Never happens so really wondering now about the UT theory as normally her nights are good.

[Claudiamummy]

I used to get that.... They often try and catch up though...

[*Becky*]

uggh, we are getting in a mess with this. For the past week she has either woken for an hour in the night OR like today at 5.30am.

What is strange is that her routine has been different most days due to going away for a night and yesterday having to go out in the morning but it still happens. One day we even managed just 2 naps but it still happened.

Does it sometimes take a few days for them to adjust?

Not sure what to do as she is not a great napper and I worry if I just cut the CN out she may get very OT but I guess maybe I need to try???

Or do I just set naps for 10am and 2pm and hope for the best??

[Claudiamummy]

Hi there, sorry you are still having issues.

The only thing about setting naps is if you get an early wake up, you can end up with a very long first A, but it's something to consider.

Lo can take time to adjust yeah

[*Becky*]

The only thing about setting naps is if you get an early wake up, you can end up with a very long first A, but it's something to consider.

yes - I think 10am is probably unrealistic actually...don't know what to do

[*Becky*]

she did 2 today....